Ortiz to make Friday announcement about 'Cyborg' Santos' fighting future

UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz promises “big news” later this week about the future of his client, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.

A press conference held Friday evening at Ortiz’s Punishment Training Center in Huntington Beach, Calif., is expected to announce the ex-Strikeforce champ’s next move.

Ortiz declined to give any further details on the announcement, which comes several days after he told AXS TV’s “Inside MMA” that Santos requested to be released from her contractual obligations to UFC parent company, Zuffa.

The “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” started a management company this past summer and took on Santos, who hasn’t fought since December 2011.

Ortiz described the UFC’s previous plan to sign Santos (10-1) to the UFC, but loan her to the all-female MMA promotion Invicta FC. Santos refused and asked to be released.

Santos usually fights at 145 pounds but has been pressured to drop to 135 for a potential bout with UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey, who attempts her first title defense when she meets Liz Carmouche next week at UFC 157.

Santos and Rousey share a rivalry that could generate box-office gold for a promoter.

The UFC has indicated that the women’s bantamweight class will be the only one featured in the octagon. In hopes Santos would drop weight, UFC President Dana White offered to pay for the services of popular nutrition/weight-cutting consultant Mike Dolce.

Ortiz, however, has argued that such a weight cut would be unsafe for Santos, who wants to have children later in life. He suggested she fight Rousey at a catchweight of 140 pounds.

“For her to get down to 135 pounds is physically impossible,” he told “Inside MMA.” “For a man it’s different because we have more water weight to take off. For Cris to get down to that weight, she’s going to be three to four percent body fat.”

Despite being stripped of her title after her most recent fight, which produced a positive test for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, Santos was kept in the contractual fold by Zuffa.

The industry-leading fight company purchased Strikeforce in March 2011 but shut it down this past month.

Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Monday that she will not negotiate with Santos until the fighter is a free agent.

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is probably the greatest female fighter on the planet, which is a tremendous feat. So why are we seemingly so obsessed with arguing about whether she could beat up men?